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Arguably the most dangerous player on the Upper Iowa Softball squad, Hailley Haning proved to one of the conference's best teams why she should be an All-NSIC honoree following the season. The senior centerfielder helped the Peacocks defeat the Augustana Vikings for the first time since UIU moved up to Division II play before the 2006 season. Augie was previously 9-0 against the Peacocks, but Haning gave the Vikings a wake-up call from the get-go.

Haning homered in the top of the first inning of game one for a two run-shot over the rightfield wall. She later scored a run, ultimately propelling UIU to a 3-1 victory. That momentum carried into the early goings of game two, but faded as Augie stormed back and earned the victory, 4-3. The split leaves the Peacocks at 24-14 overall, 11-7 in the Northern Sun and hungry for future challenges against some of the best teams in the business.

"Augie has a program full of tradition, so it is always an accomplishment to get a win against a program like that," Head Coach Anna Van Wetzinga said. "It just shows how far this team and the players have come. They are confident and we know we can play with and beat anyone. We look forward to these types of challenges."

Game One Recap
 
Senior centerfielder Hailley Haning has been spectacular in the month of April. Despite her ten game hit streak ending last Sunday against Southwest Minnesota State, she wasted no time starting a new one on Thursday.

In the top of the first inning with Katie Mnichowicz on first base, Haning jacked a two-run homer over the right field wall to give the Peacocks the early 2-0 lead. It was Haning's second four-bagger of the season, but her 7th of her short career at UIU.

"We came out strong with the two runs in the top of the first inning," Van Wetzinga said. "Hailley turned on an inside pitch very nicely to put us up early."

The Peacocks had all the momentum, but could not seem to capitalize with runners on base. UIU stranded ten runners through the first four innings, but pitcher Brooke Redmond was feeling it and kept her team out in front.

Redmond went the distance from the rubber for the 12th time this year, while striking out four Vikings and walking only two. The only score the freshman gave up was an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth off a Jenny Brown single to left. 

"Defensively and pitching-wise, we were solid in the first game," Van Wetzinga said. "I thought Brooke did a great job of hitting her spots and working ahead in the counts. She kept a good hitting team in check today."

Feeling the pressure of a 2-1 game late, the Peacocks turned back to Haning in the top of the seventh and she responded with another big play. This time, Haing showed off her speed and helped give her young pitcher a little breathing room. She led off the top of the seventh with a single to left field before Lauren Marlinghaus helped Haning advance to second thanks to a sacrifice bunt. Bailee Haberman then found a pitch she liked and connected on an RBI-single right up the middle to bring Haning home and extend the Peacocks’ lead to 3-1.

Redmond finished off the Vikings in the bottom of the inning with two groundouts and a fly-out, while Haning helped her team avoid disappointment. Despite the squad leaving a total of 11 runners on the bags, the senior team captian pushed UIU to victory thanks to two hits, two runs batted in and two runs scored.

Taking the loss from the pitching circle was the Vikings' Jenelle Trautmann, who entered with a win-loss record of 23-6. The Peacocks totaled 10 hits off the sophomore right-hander.

Game Two Recap

After the intermission, the Peacocks picked up right where they left off. Rachael Anello and Katie Mnichowicz reached base with back-to-back singles to right field. Then, Lauren Marlinghaus drove in Anello with a double to left field. The RBI was the freshman's 18th of the season. UIU then picked up another run as Bailee Haberman picked up another RBI with a single to left field.

"We came out strong in the second game as well, which was great, but we knew they would show more life at the plate," Van Wetzinga said. "They answered right back and you have to give them credit for that."

The Peacock earned one final hit in the top of the first inning, but stranded two runners as Trautmann got herself out of a jam with her first strikeout of the game. That amounted to her only strikeout of the game as Augie made a pitching change after one inning as Carly Pickett entered the circle.

Unlike game one when the Vikings trailed by two runs, Augie responded in the bottom of the first of game two with a two-run double from Jenelle Trautmann to tie the game at 2-2. 

Augie then added another run in the fourth taking the lead for the first time on Thursday. The Vikings' Carly Peterson reached base on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded giving Augustana a 3-2 lead as Erin Kempf scored from third on the play.

Already leading by a run, the Vikings added an insurance run in the fifth as Trautmann picked up another RBI on a groundout to short.

This time, UIU responded.

Haberman added another run batted in to her stat line in the top of the sixth with a double to right centerfield. The two-base knock brought Jacqueline Flood across the plate to make it a one-score game.

The Peacocks attempted one final push to tie the game or take the lead in the top of the seventh inning. Adrienna Olson earned a walk before Whitney Williams moved her into scoring position with a line drive shot to third base. Williams' hit helped create a throwing error which let Olson take third base on the play, while Williams reached first safely.

Wasting no time, Williams - the go-ahead run - stole second to give UIU two runners in scoring position, but the Peacocks couldn't manage to tie the game. Haning stepped to the plate as the final hitter as the Peacocks' one and two hitters went down. Haning made solid contact, but sent a line drive right to the first baseman. The hit might have allowed UIU to take the lead, but Van Wetzinga called it a bit of bad luck to end the game. The Vikings sealed the 4-3 victory and improved to 29-10 overall and 16-6 in the NSIC.

After racking up a four-hit, two-run first inning, the Peacocks' bats went quiet for the majority of the nightcap game thanks to the strong pitching of Pickett. UIU was held to just one hit through four innings and overall, UIU totaled seven hits, but stranded six of those runners on base. 

"We didn't adjust well after they made their pitching change," Van Wetzinga said. "They threw a lot of off-speed pitches and it became frustrating for us. We left a lot of runners on base all day and it finally caught up with us in the second game. We needed to string more hits together if we wanted to complete the comeback."

The Peacocks will now look ahead their conference matchups over the weekend. The Peacocks will play host to Bemidji State on Saturday inside the Eischeid Softball Complex despite being the designated road team. UIU is a perfect 11-0 against the Beavers since moving up to Division II before the 2006 season. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Click here to view the preview of that game.